Download or read book Pursuing Happiness: Reading American Romance as Political Fiction written by Laura Vivanco and published by Humanities-Ebooks. This book was released on 2016-02-01 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The dominance of popular romance in the United States fiction market suggests that its trends and themes may reflect the politics of a significant proportion of the population. 'Pursuing Happiness' explores some of the choices, beliefs and assumptions which shape the politics of American Romance novels. In particular, it focuses on what romances reveal about American attitudes towards work, the West, race, gender, community cohesion, ancestral “roots” and a historical connection (or lack of it) to the land.